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This Week in Pac-10 Men's Basketball (11/7/01)

Exhibition action is in full swing. . . However, the real stuff tips off for ARIZONA Thursday as the Wildcats meet Maryland in a Coaches vs. Cancer matchup. The Wildcats would then play Florida or Temple the next night. Both games will be played in Madison Square Garden . . . USC is next for games that count as it hosts Wyoming in opening round play of the Preseason NIT on Tue., Nov. 13. . . Preseason prognosticators place UCLA in the Top 10, while STANFORD and USC also receive Top 25 consideration from the various publications.

ARIZONA - Arizona does not have a senior on its roster for the first time since the 1944-45 season. . . Arizona opens 2001-02 without a top-25 ranking. The last time the Cats failed to appear in the coaches' poll was Feb. 26, 1990, a span of 202 ranking periods. Prior to this season, UA had been ranked in the AP top 25 for 109 straight weeks. Arizona has been ranked in 236 consecutive AP polls released during the regular season only. . . Call it a Coincidence: Maybe it was destiny that freshman center Isaiah Fox came to play at the University of Arizona. Not only was his father, Nils, an offensive lineman at UA (1983-84), but Isaiah was born on the same day (in Tucson) that Lute Olson was hired as the UA head coach, March 29, 1983.

ARIZONA STATE - ASU has an interesting roster mix. Justin Allen is making his comeback from Hodgkin's Disease, Kenny Crandall is coming back from a Mormon Mission and Tanner Shell is coming back from a bad back and wrist. With the addition of newcomers Chris Osborne, Curtis Millage and Jason Braxton, ASU has a strange combination this year...12 returning lettermen yet six players on the roster who did not play last year.

CALIFORNIA - Amit Tamir, a 6-10 freshman center from Israel, had his eligibility called into question because he played with professionals as a member of the Israeli National Team. He will have to sit out the first eight games of the year after a ruling by the NCAA Board of Directors last week. He will return to action Dec. 28 against Harvard. . . Cal has earned postseason tournament invitations each of the last three years, the last time the Bears had four straight appearances in the postseason came during NCAA Tournament years between 1957-60 under head coach Pete Newell.

OREGON - Over the summer, senior guard Anthony Lever legally changed his last name from Norwood to that of his natural father, former NBA star Lafayette 'Fat' Lever. He led Oregon with 51 three-pointers in 2000-01. . . Senior guard Frederick Jones is the first Oregon player to crack the career top-10 list in assists, steals, blocked shots and three-pointers. He needs just six point to reach 1,000 for his career.

OREGON STATE - Senior guard Brandon Payton is the half brother of former Beaver All-American and current NBA all-star Gary Payton. . . Oregon State has had just one player miss significant practice time due to injury (freshman center Derek Potter - bruised shin). That's a welcome relief to coach Ritchie McKay as the Beavers endured a rash of injuries last season that at times dwindled the roster to seven available players - that's half the number of players on this year's roster.

STANFORD - Only two players (guards Tony Giovacchini and Kyle Logan) on the 14-man roster are seniors. Nine of the 14 players are either freshman or sophomores ... One of those 14 players is sophomore forward Teyo Johnson, who will not be available to the team until the conclusion of the football season. Johnson has been a key member as a wide receiver on the 16th-ranked football team where he has caught 21 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns.

UCLA - Junior forward Jason Kapono was a member of the U. S. team that won the gold medal at the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men, held at Saitama, Japan. . . The 2001 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Steve Lavin is one of just three coaches in the nation who have led their schools to four NCAA 'Sweet 16s' in the last five years (Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski are the others).

USC - Junior center Kostas Charissis, suspended by the NCAA for 15 games in August for a violation of NCAA amateurism rules, had his penalty reduced to three games after the NCAA Division I Board of Directors sustained a motion to lessen the punishment for all players affected. Before he attended USC, Charissis played on a club team in Greece, which included professional players. Even though he played as an amateur, it was an NCAA violation. . . Senior point guard Brandon Granville did not play in USC's exhibition game vs. L.A. All-Stars, sitting out for precautionary reasons after suffering an injury to his mouth in practice earlier in the week.

WASHINGTON - Bum knees - Senior center Marlon Shelton re-injured his left knee (torn anterior cruciate ligament) and will redshirt the season. Freshman guard Erroll Knight underwent arthroscopic surgery in his left knee on Friday (Nov. 2). The anticipated rehab time was approximately three weeks, but he has shown good progress and could possibly return as soon as next week for the regular-season opening games at the Top of the World Classic. . . The Washington Huskies celebrate their 100th season of men's basketball competition this year.

WASHINGTON STATE - The Cougars will be the last one underway for games that count in the win/loss column. They'll take on Colorado State Tuesday, Nov. 20. . . Senior guard Mike Bush is currently staring at wide receiver on the gridiron for the Cougars. He's third in the Pac-10, averaging 87.0 yards per game, while scoring eight touchdowns for the 11th ranked Cougars. Bush, a Pac-10 honorable mention pick last season led Washington State with a 15.9 ppg scoring average.